The question of why people create art has led to many poetic musing by some of civilization’s greatest thinkers. Preceding written language, drawing was likely the first expression of human thought hundreds of thousands of years ago. The first known artistic representations — markings made...
This issue of Western Art & Architecture calls to mind an essay by poet Mary Oliver. While contemplating the creative life in “Of Power and Time,” Oliver writes that art differs from other careers, because one cannot regulate the “machinery of creativity.” Painting is not...
In this issue of WA&A, when collector Jerre Lynn Vanier was asked what inspires her to collect art, she answered, “There’s nothing I like to collect more than associations with artists; I love being a part of history with them.” Vanier, who is profiled alongside her...
What makes a great work of art? The answer to this simple, yet complex question is one that I find endlessly fascinating. The definitive answer is shrouded in a bit of mystery. It’s a question that philosophers, curators and artists themselves have contemplated for as long...
The arts, with their unique fusion of emotion, imagination and thought, are a form of communication; works often speak for themselves. But one of the many things I appreciate about editing WA&A each issue, is discovering the stories behind the artwork. In each issue, the symbolism, intention,...
When we put together issues of WA&A, themes often develop on their own. While reading over these pages, I see something new, an original thread that neatly weaves everything together as though it were a second binding; an unintentional bridge between artists and architects working...
Located on a wildlife preserve in Oklahoma, the Woolaroc Museum is filled with works from Old Masters that exemplify the genre of Western art: Russell’s watercolors and Remington’s sculptures; paintings by Leigh, the “Sagebrush Rembrandt;” Moran’s grand canyons; works that have become reference points when...
In “A Record of Industry," artist Joe McGurl offers a reminder about why art is meaningful. He states: “As artists, we have to acknowledge where we are as a society.” Throughout history, from the Stone Age to the modern era, people have been compelled to create...
It seems endemic to the human condition to wonder about the origin of a good idea. We want to know how creativity came about, because if we follow those same steps, we just might guarantee the next successful result. It’s surely one of my favorite questions...
It’s a stereotypic scene: Surrounded by the invasive smell of turpentine, the cloistered artist diligently works at his easel. An orderly array of oil paints spread across his palette; each contemplative brushstroke occurring in quiet solitude. The architect, too, seems a solitary soul, refining a rendering...